Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:

The new liturgical year has begun. Welcome to the season of Advent, the season of preparing the coming of our Lord. The word, ‘Advent’, roots from Latin, Adventus which means coming. Indeed, it is a time of waiting, longing, and even begging with a heartfelt prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus” every day. Due to our busy schedule and life style, we tend to forget the fact that Christ will come as he promised in Luke’s Gospel, “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Lk 21:27), and no one knows the time and date of his second coming. Jesus says, “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come” (Mk 13:33).

While we are preparing for the great celebration of Christmas, that is, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14), we also prepare for his coming by examining our conscious and confessing our sins. We ask Jesus to come to us in his mercy. That is the precise reason why we decorate the season of Advent with purple, the color of repentance.

It has been a tradition among the Catholics, especially German-speaking districts, that the family begins the season of Advent with the lighting of the Advent wreath, decorated with small ornaments, and placed on the dining room table, or a coffee table. Then whenever they pray together, they light the candle reminding themselves to prepare for the celebration of Christmas and his second coming. I would like to suggest that all Christ the King families have this wonderful tradition as their family one. If you have never done that, I hope that you will be able to begin this year. If you are doing it every Advent season, please invite the children and other relatives to be part of this wonderful tradition with prayer. I am sure that this will help the family to be united one another through this simple yet profound tradition during this holy season.

I am also very excited to announce that Pope Francis declares this year as the Year of Consecrated Life, beginning from today and ending on February 2, 2016, the World Day of Consecrated Life. Some of us have been impacted by the life witness of all brothers and sisters in Christ living consecrated lives in the past. They are hidden workers to build God’s kingdom by teaching in the schools, taking care of the sick and the poor, and defending the people who are marginalized from the society. It is our time to recognize and appreciate their dedicated life to Christ.

Please visit our newly renovated website, www.ctkbelton.org. Also in the website, there are new information regarding online giving with WeShare and Christ the King parish app available in both iPhone and Android-based phone. If you are interested in offering a special gift to our Baby Jesus, please visit the website for more information. I will share all the details in the near future.

I pray that you will have a blessed and faith-filled season of Advent. 

Come, Lord Jesus!

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:

Happy Solemnity of Christ the King! How wonderful it is that the patronage of our parish is Christ himself – Christ our Lord of lords and King of kings! On this wonderful day, the United States of Catholic Bishop issued information to help us better understanding the meaning of Christ the King. It was very insightful for me to learn more about the kingship of Jesus Christ. I hope that it will be for you as well. The winter has come and allergy season is just around corner. I pray for your well-being during the winter.

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A Kingship that Bears Witness to the Truth

Each year at the conclusion of the liturgical year, we fittingly celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. As the Apostle St. Paul teaches us, "In [Jesus Christ] everything in heaven and earth was created ... and continues in being" (Col 1:16-1 7). He is the 'Alpha and Omega', the 'Beginning and End', the 'Way, Truth, and life'. Indeed, Christ promises to His faithful friends the gift of salvation, the pledge of everlasting life through His Resurrection. Therefore, faithfulness to Christ, our King, opens the door to our eternal happiness.

Origin of the Feast: In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in the encyclical Quas Primas (from Latin, "In the First") to respond to secularism-the adoration of 'idols' of the earthly world, such as money and fame, above God. Pope Pius XI recognized that secularism would breed hostility against the Church. In fact, during the 20^th century, governments in Mexico, Russia, and Europe, infiltrated by secularism, threatened not only the Catholic Church but also civilization itself. Quas Primas gave Catholics the hope that while governments may crumble, Christ's Kingdom, unlike the kingdoms of this world, would last forever.

Christ's Kingship: Although Quas Prim as was written almost 90 years ago, it continues to ring true today. For instance, secularism continues to separate people from God, as evidenced by the rejection of Church teachings and the denial of God Himself. In addition, recent Pew Research Center data shows the worldwide increase of religious hostilities. Now more than ever, we must celebrate that Jesus Christ is King of the Universe, including in the following ways:

• In Christ, we must preserve our fundamental rights.

Jesus Christ reveals the fulfillment of the truths of creation found in the book of Genesis: "God saw everythingthat He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen 1 :31). Therefore, "made in [His] image and likeness," each of us possesses an immeasurable goodness (Gen 1 :26). And, this goodness from Christ, given to the heart of man, calls us to fight for what is justly ours: the right to life, freedom of conscience and religious freedom.

• In Christ, we must evangelize in love.

Christ, both meek and humble of heart, is the perfect servant of God: Through His teaching and His life, Jesus intended to confirm, not to coerce, others in faith (Dignitatis Humanae, no. 11). Through our daily action, let us follow Christ's loving example of showing the truth to others.

• In Christ, we must proclaim the truth.

Christ's Kingship "bear[s] witness to the truth" Qohn 18:37). In bearing this witness, Christ acknowledges government authority, "rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Matthew 22:21). Nonetheless,

we are asked to speak out "against governing powers which oppose the holy will of God" (Dignitatis Humanae, no. 11).

Bearing witness to the truth in this age can be difficult. But Christ has shown us that 'kingship' must always be at the service of the good of mankind. Therefore, with His grace and in hope of His gift of salvation, let us bear witness to the truth, even when it is unpopular or costly to do so. In this way, we become faithful servants of Christ, preparing the way for His Kingdom, both on earth and in heaven.

Dear Sisters and brothers in Christ:

I assume that you have received a letter from Bishop Joe Vásquez asking you to participate in the 2014-2015 Catholic Services Appeal. If not so, I am sure that his personal letter is on the way. Thank you for your dedication and contribution to our diocese in the past. Because I believe that the Catholic Services Appeal is so important for the work of the Church and our parish family, I am writing to ask for your generous response to his request.

Each year the Catholic Services Appeal provides the resources for more than twenty programs in education, formation, and social services. Once again, we are blessed with a large class of seminarians. These numbers certainly provide hope for our aging priest population, but seminarian education is not free. Because of the increased costs related to educating our seminarians, I ask that you consider a generous gift to the Catholic Services Appeal.

So many programs supported by the Appeal provide services that our parish alone could not provide. By sharing a financial gift, you can touch the lives of thousands of people in Central Texas through programs that teach, heal, support, nurture, and feed.

Please consider making a pledge that can be paid in ten monthly payments.  This way you will be able to increase the impact of your generous gift. The Stewardship and Development Office will send you a reminder every month.

Please join me, along with our Bishop, in praying for the success of the Catholic Services Appeal. May God bless you for your support of our Christ the King parish and our diocese.

Yesterday, all one billion Catholics around the world are praying together for the repose of all the souls who died in friendship with Christ yet who hadn't reached spiritual maturity to be in the complete union with God, the absolute good. In order to understand the true meaning of the celebration of All Souls Day, we should remind ourselves of the teaching of the Church regarding “purgatory.”

What is purgatory?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It makes perfect sense if we think of God, who is Absolutely Good. Let’s say one soul, who is not completely purified, approaches the Absolute Good. Since nothing can be hidden in the Absolute Good, this soul then must see what he has done wrong, and in examining his imperfection, he may feel pain and agony in the light of the Absolute Good. This also makes him desire to be purified in order to be in union with the Absolute Good. Another example can be like a traveler who has lost his way in the desert. He was thirsty and hungry, until all of sudden he found an oasis in the distance. Yes, he is in agony walking toward it, yet, he has a great hope that he will get there eventually.

Scripture emphasizes nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven (cf. Rev. 21:27), and, while we may die with our mortal sins (complete disconnection from God) forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due for our sins already forgiven. I often describe purgatory as the spiritual hospital, just inside heaven’s gate, where God lovingly purifies and heals His children from the damage their sins have inflicted on their souls while they were still on earth. We tend to be fearful since the words “temporal punishment” is attached to purgatory, but if we really think of it, purgatory is the expression of God’s amazing love. He shares His amazing love and healing gifts with all those souls who are preparing for union with the Absolute Good.

Why do we need to pray for the dead?

So today we pray for all the souls in purgatory hoping that our prayer will contribute in hastening our departed brothers’ and sisters’ full entrance into heaven. The question is then: Why should we do that? Can our prayer affect all the souls who have already passed away? Yes, it can. The first Scriptural evidence is found in 2 Maccabees 12: 39-45 where Judas Maccabee, the Jewish leader, and his soldiers prayed that God would forgive the sins all the soldiers who died after the battle since they violated the law of Deuteronomy. Also St. Paul in his second letter to Timothy prayed for a dead man named Onesiphorus: “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day” (2 Tim 1:18). Another piece of evidence is when the early Roman Christian community prayed for their fellow Christians who were buried in Catacombs.

Most of all, in the Apostles Creed, we profess that “I believe in […] communion of saints”. Thus all the purified souls in the complete union with God (in other words saints) are indeed worshiping with us while celebrating the heavenly liturgy. In the holy liturgy, all the living and dead are unified in God and praying for one another. If so, Christians who are faithfully departed are still the members of the Body of Christ, and thus as the Body of Christ, we can assist in faith by prayers and other forms of spiritual support.

True. We can pray for our beloved family members who passed away from this world. But how about other souls who are forgotten? That’s why the Mother Church prays for all the souls in purgatory on All Souls Day. How wonderful that we, the Body of Christ, pray for our beloved ones as well as ones who are not remembered!

We pray! We live!

Therefore, on this Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed,  let us pause to remember all our brothers and sisters who have gone before us and are marked with the sign of faith, especially all the poor souls in purgatory and all those who passed away the last year in our Christ the King faith community. Let us live this day, All Souls Day, with hope. We live tomorrow and each succeeding day with hope, no matter what occurs. We remember what all those who have gone before us in death now know so well. We are loved! We are chosen! We are joined to God in Jesus. We have been shown the way to eternal life!